Salary Attachments in Odoo 18

HR managers handling court-ordered wage garnishments create payroll chaos: employee receives child support order requiring $500 monthly deduction, payroll processor manually remembers to subtract $500 each month until Excel reminder missed causing non-compliance, another employee has loan garnishment but HR doesn't track total paid vs total owed so deduction continues 3 months after paid off overpaying $1,500, and audit reveals 12 garnishments across 8 employees with inconsistent deduction amounts—creating legal liability and employee complaints from manual garnishment tracking without systematic automation.

Odoo 18 Salary Attachments automate payroll deductions with attachment types (Child Support/Assignment/Garnishment), automatic payslip deductions each pay period, total amount tracking showing remaining balance, start/end date management, completion status workflow, document attachment for court orders, employee-specific configuration, and integrated payslip reporting—eliminating manual deduction tracking and ensuring legal compliance reducing garnishment errors 95% while maintaining transparent recordkeeping for audits.

What is Salary Attachment?

Legal or administrative function enabling employers to deduct specific amounts from employee paychecks to satisfy:

• Child Support: Court-ordered support payments
• Wage Garnishments: Debt repayments (credit cards, loans, taxes)
• Court Fines: Legal penalties or settlements
• Salary Assignments: Voluntary payment commitments

System guarantees legal compliance while automating deduction process.

Benefits of Salary Attachments

• Automated Deductions: System calculates and applies deductions every pay period
• Legal Adherence: Ensures compliance with court orders and regulations
• Transparent Recordkeeping: Complete audit trail of all deductions
• Secure Transactions: Confidential handling of sensitive information
• Time Savings: Eliminates manual tracking and calculations
• Integrated Reporting: Payslips automatically show deductions
• Error Reduction: 95% fewer mistakes vs manual processing
• Customized Configuration: Flexible setup per employee needs
• Easier Audits: Complete documentation for compliance reviews

Creating Salary Attachment

1. Open Payroll module from dashboard
2. Go to Contracts → Salary Attachments
3. Click New

Attachment Configuration Fields:

Example Setup:

Attachment Workflow

Status: Running

Once created, attachment enters Running state:

• Deductions applied automatically every pay period
• Amount deducted from employee payslip
• Remaining balance tracked
• Continues until total amount reached or manually completed

Automatic Deduction Process:

1. Payroll period processed (e.g., monthly on Jan 31)
2. System checks active salary attachments for employee
3. Deducts $500 from gross salary
4. Shows deduction line on payslip: "Child Support Attachment: -$500"
5. Updates remaining balance: $6,000 - $500 = $5,500 remaining
6. Repeats next pay period

Marking as Completed:

Two completion scenarios:

Payslip Integration

Salary attachments appear on employee payslips automatically:

Best Practices

Always Attach Legal Documents: Document field not optional—upload court order, garnishment notice, or written agreement. Audit requires proof deduction authorized. Missing documentation = legal liability if employee disputes deduction.

Set Accurate Total Amounts: Total Amount = sum of all payments owed, not monthly amount. Child support $500/month for 12 months = $6,000 total. Wrong total ($500) = deduction stops after 1 month not 12 months.

Review Running Attachments Monthly: Monthly payroll check: which attachments active? Any completed but still Running? Prevents over-deduction. Employee paid $6,000 but attachment still Running = extra deduction until manually stopped.

Multiple Attachments

Employees can have multiple simultaneous attachments:

Conclusion

Odoo 18 Salary Attachments automate payroll deductions through type-specific configuration, automatic payslip integration, total amount tracking, and status workflow management. Ensure legal compliance and eliminate manual garnishment errors reducing mistakes 95% while maintaining transparent audit trails for regulatory compliance.